


Compulsions

by sasoli



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Co-workers, Developing Friendships, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, M/M, Naruto and Hinata are married, Slow Burn, Strangers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:55:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasoli/pseuds/sasoli
Summary: There was never any question what Sasuke was to him, what hewouldbe to him, in spite of all the time he wasted trying to fight the inevitable.Naruto just wished he had known that from the beginning.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Compulsions

He can still remember, as clear as ever, one of the most pivotal conversations of his life. It had always been odd to him, why this particular one stood out to him so much. It wasn't until he met _him_ , and that encounter left him spiraling to remember every single word his mother had uttered that day.

If he tries hard enough, the sound of his mother’s voice, gently coaxing him to sleep is clear enough it feels as if he's there again, wrapped safely in her strong arms. His head laying on her chest, the familiar heartbeat beneath his ear, feeling her fingers smoothing his wild tuft of hair. That was his favorite place to be; he had always fit perfectly in her lap.

What stood out the most though, were her words. Something she had told her young son on a whim, stuck with him, and played in his mind, again and again. 

  


* * *

_  
“ Your father and I....,” she sighs, trying to find the right words to tell her son. “ We were friends.”_

_Friends? “But, you said he’s your soulmate?”_

_Her smile is tired, but fortunately her son isn't able to see her expression from where he's on her laying chest. “He is.”_

_The boy doesn't respond, but she can tell he's confused. Trying to understand soulmates could be frustrating for anyone. She couldn't imagine what it was like for a six-year-old to try to understand them._

_“Honey, people don't have to be together just because they're soulmates. There are so many ways a soulmate can fit into your life. They can be your friend, your family, your enemy, or,” she swallows. “They can just be a stranger.”_

_“There isn't any right or wrong way. Soulmates can be whatever you want them to be. You just need to see what works for you both, okay?”_

_Kushina knows he's too young to retain all of this, but she truly hopes he’s able to grasp some of it.  
_  


* * *

  
It's only now, many years later, that Naruto realizes that, despite her best intentions, his mother was wrong. In his case, there was never any question what Sasuke was to him, what he _would_ be to him, in spite of all the time he wasted trying to fight it.

Soulmates are not something you find and just toss aside and ignore; they are forever _yours_. The feeling you get from meeting them, speaking to them, from _knowing_ them, can never be duplicated with anyone else. 

Naruto just wished he had known that from the beginning.


End file.
